Ch.295Side Story: Eye Stamp

About a week had passed since meeting Agnes, the Duke and Duchess, and the other parents in succession. The plan was now in its final stages.

Though it was an unavoidable choice, we kept the fact that we weren’t actually male-female couples a complete secret from the Earth-side parents. All four of us agreed it was necessary.

There was no other option unless we were willing to face the consequences of a direct confrontation. Unlike other worlds, most countries on Earth don’t tolerate polygamy.

Especially if the subjects were world-famous S-rank Hunters and the Guild Master of the world’s strongest guild.

As the common joke goes, even if we went to the Middle East, the internet would never leave us alone. All kinds of rumors and gossip would spread endlessly along with mockery and criticism.

I didn’t want to invite unnecessary hate.

“How did it go, Priscilla?”

“She was thrilled. Said she never thought I’d have anything like this in my lifetime.”

Priscilla’s mother—not the Duchess Agnes, but her Earth-side mother—was visibly delighted that her daughter finally had a boyfriend.

If I had left her alone, she might have started booking wedding venues, so I had to rein her in.

Then, saying she would show off her skills after a long time, she carpet-bombed us with an enormous amount of food before spending about five hours detailing what kind of child Priscilla used to be.

Priscilla, sitting beside her, was busy trying to stop her mother whenever sensitive stories were about to come up. It was quite telling how her mother thought of her daughter.

“You have no idea how much trouble I had with our Yoon. When she finally went outside after two weeks, I was so happy, but then her clothes—”

“M-Mom! Mom!”

The highlight was the story of how, when Priscilla went out for the first time in 15 days, her mother gave her money and packed all sorts of things for her, only for her to return with a bag full of otaku merchandise while wearing an ahegao t-shirt.

Priscilla seemed to realize what story her mother was about to tell and desperately tried to cover her mouth, but her mother’s power was formidable. She managed to subdue her S-rank Hunter daughter with her bare hands and spilled everything.

“…Yeah. She was really happy. What about you, Rosaria?”

“Me? My parents just said to do whatever I want. They said as long as you’re not a criminal, don’t look too bad at first impression, have a good attitude, and most importantly, if we love each other, what business do parents have interfering?”

Rosaria’s parents were surprisingly hands-off. Not the neglectful kind of hands-off, but the kind that trusts their daughter and supports or helps her from behind no matter what she does.

Instead, when they heard about the fake occupation I created on Earth, they worried a bit about what would happen if I died before their daughter. I suppose being a Hunter who only takes special requests does seem somewhat unstable.

So this time, her father was a bit more intense. He brought out alcohol, saying that drinking reveals a person’s true nature, and challenged me to a drinking contest.

“Hmm, you pass. You pass… ugh.”

“You crazy man! I can’t live like this! We’re meeting both Chaewon and our son-in-law, what are you doing?!”

Of course, being just an ordinary human, he was the first to pass out.

Her mother, surprised that her drunkard husband was the first to collapse, became furious when he suddenly vomited everything he had drunk in front of the son-in-law, slapping his back repeatedly while asking if he had lost his mind.

Rosaria apologized for showing me such a scene and practically pushed me out of there. I told her it was fine since I’d seen all sorts of things, but she said she wasn’t fine with it.

“I already got permission long ago. My daughter is an S-rank Hunter, what could I possibly criticize?”

Meanwhile, Laura’s mother, who I met with such confidence, looked like she had a lot to say to her daughter. As soon as we sat down, she started endlessly talking about her daughter as if she had finally found someone to share her secrets with.

This was possible because I had told her in advance that Laura had shared everything with me. If I had met her without knowing, I would have lost interest and run away.

“Our Seoa was good at studying, but…”

That wasn’t the usual thing parents say. Laura, or rather the possessed Seoa, was genuinely good at studying. So good that her parents couldn’t say anything about her intense hobbies.

They were worried when she started collecting lewd anime girl pictures from a young age, but her grades were so good they couldn’t say anything. Even in high school, she studied well enough to choose any university she wanted, so again, they couldn’t say anything.

After becoming an adult and entering her chosen university, she still got good grades and even earned money, so they had somewhat come to terms with it.

Not to mention now that she was an S-rank Hunter.

“…You showed this off to people around you?”

“Shamefully, yes.”

At first, I thought I could understand whatever hobby she had, but as soon as I saw the figurines Laura had apparently shown off to people, I couldn’t help but understand her parents’ position.

If they had been normal figurines, there might have been room for defense.

But most of them were in vulgar poses that belonged in adult content, blatantly making sexual appeals, or wearing what could barely be called clothes—scraps of fabric that could even be removed, making them quite maniacal.

One entire wall was filled with such figurines, and she hadn’t quietly collected them but openly boasted about them. For the sake of their daughter’s image, they must have wanted to stop her somehow.

It was actually more impressive that they hadn’t touched her collection as promised. If it was shocking to me, how must it have appeared to her parents?

“I am proud. She did her duties and enjoyed her hobbies.”

“…”

Laura was still proud even now.

I thought that whoever wrote the yuri novel that opened the eyes of someone with such a personality must have been quite talented. Though I should call it half-successful since it shattered all the implicit rules of yuri stories.

“I should visit my mother a bit early.”

Elysiere’s mother, whom we visited after that comment, was quite a composed person, and Elysiere grew up with a similarly quiet personality taking after her. She had separated from her father on bad terms about ten years ago.

“…It’s been quite a while since I’ve talked with someone Yena’s age.”

It didn’t take long to understand what she meant by visiting early. I was caught by Elysiere’s mother and became her conversation partner for a while.

A “while” is putting it mildly—the actual time was quite long. There was no sign of it ending, so Elysiere had to forcibly drag me out, saying we should wrap things up.

Even then, she said I should visit anytime since she still had more to say about her daughter, which suggested that while she was composed, she wasn’t exactly quiet. Elysiere awkwardly made an excuse.

“She must have been lonely living an ordinary life.”

“It’s okay. I understand. I’ll try to visit often.”

“…I am ashamed.”

With Elysiere’s mother, the task of making impressions on the Earth-side parents came to a relatively smooth end.

Now, the only things left to do on Earth were to create suitable alibis, announce our relationships, and one other thing.

“Hmm. I knew this would happen from the moment I saw you before.”

Leona’s parents, who were the true final step, recalled meeting me before and nodded, saying they had expected this. Perhaps because I had saved them from monsters, they didn’t have much else to say.

Instead, since there were quite a few stories circulating about what Mira Crate had done and what kind of person he was, I was caught by Leona’s father and had to spill everything about how and why his daughter was so wonderful.

“Hmm. A very admirable mindset. I give you a passing grade.”

“…Thank you.”

The result was obvious.

After finishing the introductions with Leona’s parents, I returned to my Earth parents’ home for a while, waiting for the next task.

Erestica, being a dragon, didn’t have anything that could be called parents; Nika’s mother had died due to Astaroth’s schemes; and Latina was in a similar situation.

“Yooseong, did you hear that news?”

As if she had something else to say, Kang Yuna, who was sitting at the end of the sofa where I was seated and using her phone, suddenly asked. The setup was similar to last time.

“Are you not going to tell me what news? Do I need to use mind reading or something?”

“Tch, I was just about to tell you. About the Guild Masters getting lovers.”

“I heard.”

The internet had already been turned upside down because of that.

It was no wonder there was an uproar when the Guild Masters of Eternal Guild, famous as a male-free zone since its founding, simultaneously announced they had lovers. All kinds of fantasies and speculations ran wild, including guesses that they had become each other’s lovers. The parents of the four people, who had already been introduced, would have scoffed at such ideas.

The reason they announced their relationships simultaneously was explained as having kept their relationships secret for a long time until they were certain about their partners. Their parents must be smiling contentedly by now.

For reference, they all know my appearance slightly differently. That was obviously necessary.

“Aren’t you being too indifferent? That person is you. Why don’t you show a bit more interest?”

“What’s there to be interested in? I’ve already done everything I needed to do. If you’re going to keep talking nonsense, just go back to your room and do what you’re good at. You know, that thing.”

I signaled her to leave by wiggling my foot instead of my hand.

“Ugh…”

Kang Yuna, knowing that any response would be to her disadvantage, couldn’t say anything.

Besides, she had to be nice to me anyway. She had received quite a lot recently. If converted to money, it would amount to roughly an A-rank Hunter’s annual salary.

“No, no. Like you said, I’ve received a lot, so I just wanted to help.”

“It doesn’t seem very useful. How helpful could advice be from someone your age who’s never even brought home a boyfriend?”

“Hey! What are you… ahem, AHEM! Little brother. Although this sister has never had a boyfriend, there is knowledge in this world that is honed through theory rather than practice.”

Kang Yuna, who was about to growl at me, seemed to remember that my girlfriends were her superiors and quickly adjusted her voice, putting on a bright smile. It was so forced that it was actually funny.

“As if. It’s probably just porn, hentai manga, or erotic novels.”

“…”

It was just a few weeks ago that I received boxes of erotic novels from Diana. Knowledge honed through theory would probably be useless anyway.

“Alright, let me hear how you were planning to help. If it’s useless, I’ll call Seoa and tell her to direct all urgent gate cleanup requests to you.”

As I waved my smartphone, Kang Yuna answered with a tense face.

“…Well, you’re going to introduce yourself to our parents soon, right? Correct?”

“Yeah, that’s right. It’s not far off. The day after tomorrow?”

“And you’re not going to bring all of them. Right?”

“That’s… also correct.”

We had just been in a meeting about that. Deciding who would come here. As far as I know, no conclusion had been reached by the time I came here.

“That’s why I want to help. I know better how to score points with them.”

If I’m not going to change my appearance with disguise magic, just being an S-rank Hunter should be enough, so why go to such lengths?

As I was thinking this, a message arrived. I made a zipping motion across my lips, signaling her to be quiet, and turned on my phone screen.

It was a message saying they had decided who would be coming here.